SciFish 2000

FishTrek 98
Fisheries Mapping and Planning Software

Product Description

SciFish has developed, and is now selling FishTrek 98, a software product that allows a fisherman to store all of his catch data in the computer with other environmental information and then build comprehensive fishing maps. This software product, formerly called Fisherman’s Associate, has been available since March 1997. We now have 200 copies of this software in the fleet.

FishTrek 98 is a Windows-based planning, database, and mapping tool that stores, analyzes, displays, and reports a wide variety of fishing information, including bottom contours (bathymetry), catch statistics, weather, tide, currents, sea conditions, bottom depth and conditions, air and sea temperatures, lunar phases, snag locations, and marks. Real-time vessel position and its track line can also be stored for later data entry and display. This software is fundamentally different from other marine-related software products:

FishTrek 98 has the most comprehensive bathymetry in the North Pacific. This bathymetry was created from multiple data sources, including many hours of manual data entry from nautical charts to fill large gaps where digital data was not available.

FishTrek 98 is composed of layers of vector data that can be added, removed, modified, and queried. Every map item can be probed for further information, making it a fully interactive mapping system.

FishTrek 98 provides a large database of publicly available survey data for all of the U.S.

FishTrek 98 provides the fisherman with the ability to contour his own data from data points.

Electronic Log Book Entry Form

FishTrek 98 allows an arbitrary number of vessels and captains to store information for later retrieval and analysis.

Product Configuration

The software product is sold on CD-ROM's for three different regions from Alaska, West Coast, and East Coast. Each region contains from 4 to 7 areas. The product sells for $249 for one area (FishTrek 98) and $495 for an entire region (FishTrek Pro).

A second data product (bathymetric contours) will be sold for the same regions by late 1998.

Target Markets

FishTrek 98 is sold to commercial fishermen, fisheries managers, and recreational fishermen. SciFish will also be competing to become NOAA's exclusive developer of their Electronic Log Book.

Market Potential

SciFish projects $2.9 M in annual sales by 2003. Net profit for these sales is projected at $1.6 M.

Current Product Status

Fifty sales to date. A modest marketing plan has been initiated that includes ads, trade shows, free press, and direct mail.